Honorable Thoughts to Replace Negative Inside Chatter

Hey there! Today is week 2 in the series “How to Replace Negative Internal Chatter” and in this series, we are learning how to replace that pesky negative inside chatter of the mind with honorable thoughts from God’s Word.

In Phil. 4:8, Paul outlines what we should be thinking on:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (ESV)

When I first read Phil. 4:8 in preparation to write this post, I read it in the King James Version. And I heavily contemplated the wording: “…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,” Hmmm.

What is the difference between “true” and “honest?”

Then I began to read the verse in other versions and two other words were used… “noble” and “honorable.” As I dug a little deeper, I discovered the original language of this verse indicates: “to hold in deep respect.”

Paul is telling us to think honorable thoughts- thoughts that would be respectful of God, others, and ourselves. Not only are we to think on things that are true, but also things that give dignity to our life status.

When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we became God’s child- an heir to the throne of Heaven. (Titus 3:7) In reflecting on Paul’s charge to think on things that are honorable, I believe Paul is telling us to think like the child of the King- prince or princess- we are.

Oh my. I’m afraid that negative internal chatter is NOT very princess-like.

In fact, it’s a royal mess. (Get it, royal mess? Ok, you got it. Sorry.)

I don’t know if you’re familiar with The Princess Diaries movie, but if you have 3 minutes, you can take a little peek at what I’m thinking of here. I’m afraid my internal chatter, and perhaps yours as well, equates quite well to Mia’s pre-princess predicament.

You see, Mia came in as a frizzy, wild, unpolished girl and once she was willing to undergo a few changes, she made her appearance as a polished, poised princess.

I wonder if God sees my mindless internal negative chatter as comparable to Mia and her lack of royal dignity. Because I’m guessing He might just shake His head a bit at me like we do at Mia and her unpredictable spontaneity.

Perhaps He gazes fondly and says to Himself, “She has a bit of growing up to do but she is going to look so beautiful when she wears the crown.”

This is the reason it is important to turn off the negative internal chatter and reflect on things that are honorable- because we want to reflect the glory the King deserves.

Bloggers, thanks for linking up to Whimsical Wednesdays! I appreciate each of your encouraging posts.

And I really want to know:

Do you have a royal thought you could share that would give the King the glory He deserves? Perhaps something like “I’m so thankful Jesus saved me and made me an heir to the throne.” I’d love to read it in the comments!

And today, my post on “10 Tips for Enjoying Family Day Trips” is up at The Better Mom. Hope you’ll stop by over there to say “Hi!” and check it out. (post goes live Wednesday morning)

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Comments

I am a child of God who stumbles frequently, works hard to reflect the love of God in my thoughts, words and actions but don’t always reach the mark and through it all I am loved unconditionally and forgiven daily by the one, true God.

I have this quote I got a couple of years back from this course I took: “Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the the trees and the stars. In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.” -Max Ehrmann. I’d like to think that God has something to do with that and that as hard as I am on myself- perhaps not very princess like- God wants me to be happy and is trying to help me be ME!

Thanks for sharing this post!

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I'm Rachel! So glad you're here! I want to help you cultivate a personal faith that will outlast the storms of life. And mercy, aren't there a lot of them? I'm a wife, mom, author, speaker, and freelance writer. Our communities have completed over 35 Bible reading challenges and online Bible studies, as well as enjoyed hundreds of prayers, devotionals, and creative study ideas. You can learn more about my story and how to enjoy this site HERE

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